Warrior rally falls short against New Mexico State

LAS VEGAS — New Mexico State jumped out to a 22-2 lead in the first six minutes and then held off Hawai’i, 92-81, in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals tonight at The Orleans Arena.

The Warriors end their season at 16-16, with a bid to the College Invitational Tournament not expected. The Aggies improved to 25-9 and advance to tomorrow’s championship game against the winner of Nevada and Louisiana Tech.

New Mexico State sprinted to a stunning 17-0 lead in the first 4:40, mostly on surprisingly easy fast-break layups or wide-open 3-point shots. Hawai’i, which committed only seven turnovers in Wednesday’s 72-70 upset of Idaho, lost the ball six times in the first seven
minutes as the Aggies took a 22-2 lead on Tshilidzi Nephawe’s three-point play with 13:58 remaining.

The lead was 38-20 after Wendell McKines’ 3-point basket with 5:44 left, but Joaquim answered with a layup 13 seconds later to start the Warriors on a 12-0 run that closed the gap to 38-32 after Stokes’ second straight 3-pointer with 3:20 remaining.

It was 44-38 with under a minute left before Hernst Laroche’s 3-pointer with 43 seconds remaining put New Mexico State ahead, 47-38, at the break.

UH closed it to 61-60 on Hauns Brereton’s baseline jumper with 10:36 left in the game, and drew it to 76-73 on Trevor Wiseman’s putback with 4:44 remaining, but the Aggies effectively sealed the victory with a 9-2 run capped by Hernst Laroche’s free throws that made it 85-75 at the 1:36 mark.

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More details, including video highlights and interviews, will be posted later.

Great heart and effort UH MBB team and Gib. Too bad got off to slow start..showed amazing grit, and gave maximum effort…just short…Hats off to a great bunch of guys. Through adversity, sickness, discipline, emotional highs and lows…one of the great 2 game runs in WAC tourney I have ever witnessed. Good job!

Hit that recruiting trail Gib, get Scholar athletes and good shooters, defenders, and ones that can match the heart of your terrific 12 of 2012-2013 and you will be champs outright!